Executive Summary

Not very long ago, social media was viewed as a fun way to keep in touch with friends and family. Many business leaders considered it a time-waster best reserved for kids.

How times have changed. With incidents like United Breaks Guitars now commonplace, it’s painfully clear that social word-of-mouth has tremendous consequences when brands fumble a customer encounter. Of course, there’s upside too. Social media is a veritable goldmine of insights that can help a company innovate and improve its competitive position.

Participating in social media—via online communities, blogging and networking sites—is now thought of much like the Internet a decade ago. A company is conspicuous in its absence of a social media plan, especially if it sells to consumers.